CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THE HUNTERS' PLAYGROUND

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Amaterasu: Welcome back, everyone. Time for a new chapter. Hope you enjoy it. I_Love_All_ , thanks for the art. You're awesome!

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[The Hidden Leaf Village]

The Leader of the Hyuga Clan stood upon the rooftops - striking down the squad of invading shinobi with his Rotation with his Byakugan. He looked along the bodies to make sure none of them would attempt to shoot from the ground and strike him like the vipers they were but they all remained still so Hiashi looked off in a random direction - his Byakugan picked up on a large cluster of Invading Shinobi heading in the direction of 2 other chakra signatures - and those two were almost blinding; he had to deactivate the Byakugan before rushing in that direction.

This Chunin Exam has gone to hell: The Hokage captured and forced into combat with the Snake Sannin and Former Student - Orochimaru, The Sound and Sand Villages invade, the people have been evacuated and were now in safety but there were some souls lost. What's more - he just learned that his daughter's supposed killer was his daughter herself. She severed her ties to the Hidden Leaf Village, to the Hyuga Clan...To him. 

Hiashi's eyes lowed and a cold feeling grasped his heart as the revelations of everything that happened since the Tigress of the Mist arrived before the truth was revealed:

The Darkness Ko saw in Hinata's heart the night before she left - if he saw it, focused on his daughter the way a father was supposed to; he could have seen the darkness growing and he would have saved her from it.

Neji being reduced to that state - the doctors told Hiashi that if he was a few minutes late, they wouldn't have been able to save Neji's arm and leg. To think someone so sweet could almost kill her own cousin.

When the doctor told him that the reason Hanabi was so strong even though she was deemed never to survive a few months was only that Hinata endangered her own life to split her soul in half so Hanabi could have a chance - now, without it, Hanabi was slowly dying,

Then, there was the event - where the mask was broken and Tigress was revealed to be the Late Hyuga Heiress and she expressed just how much she hates the village she grew up in and the people in it by stabbing the boy she once loved in the heart with her sword.

There was no denying it - Hinata hated everything about the Hidden Leaf Village and there was nothing Hiashi could do about it...or...maybe there was still a chance. Maybe if he showed his eldest that he had changed - that he could be a better father - she would return to them and help them with the vast power contained in her right arm.

The cry of pain caused Hiashi to break out of his mental thoughts and come to a stop - he reached the area where his Byakugan picked up on that mass amount of chakra and his eyes widened at the sight before him. A mini-army of Sound and Sand Ninja were charging down the path towards two people on the other side - Zabuza and Hinata stood there with their swords in their hands and wild grins on their faces, along with bloodlust shining in their eyes like sparkles on a diamond when the sun hits it. Hiashi didn't like the look in their eyes.

The Invaders got even closer - the sword wielders crouched in ready positions before lunging forward and cutting into their first victims. The steel of the swords cut through the flesh of the invaders like a hot knife through softened butter - the blood spewed from the wounds like water from and burst pipe, painting the ground, walls, and the blades of the hunters red. Their laughter grew louder as each new victim fell - pieces severed from their bodies, people sliced in half, beheaded or disemboweled, blade or claw - it was only a matter of time before the screams stopped.

The Head of the Hyuga Clan's eyes widened at the display before him - the dismembered bodies lying along the trail before him, the blood soaking the ground, and the trail leading to the two sword wielders standing there with their bodies covered i...

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The Head of the Hyuga Clan's eyes widened at the display before him - the dismembered bodies lying along the trail before him, the blood soaking the ground, and the trail leading to the two sword wielders standing there with their bodies covered in blood and the crimson liquid dripping from their blades. They were laughing - pleased by their carnage, debating on ways to rid the rest of the invaders or who would have the most kills by the end of the day. His eyes looked at the hybrid and all he could think was...

'What happened to the sweet child Hikari and I created?' 

"That was a good warm-up." Zabuza said as he looked down at the girl.

"Not much of a warm-up if you ask me, Zabuza-sama. They weren't even an appetizer. I need something more filling before I even call that satisfying." Hinata said before her ear flicked and her eyes narrowed, "I just got a message from Haku-kun: The Sand Siblings stopped. It's only Temari right now, Kankuro stopped to hold of Shino. Sasuke and Sakura are against them, and it would seem Shukaku is starting to take over Gaara's Body." Hinata said as she sheathed her sword.

"You gonna teleport to them?" Zabuza asked.

"No - I need time to build up the power for what I'm about to do. I'll head there on foot." Hinata lifted her marked arm - a sparkling mist danced on her palm, "Listen - All the invaders are dead now, I need you to head back to the stadium and wait for that barrier to come down. Our mission is to kill Orochimaru - if you can, take him out. If he manages to get away and the Hokage has fallen, use this on his body." The mist gathered together and materialized into a crystal fragment that shined like a star in Hinata's clawed hand. She dropped it in Zabuza's hand before she turned on her heel and began running away before leaping to the rooftops.

"Quite a shame...isn't it, Old Man?" Zabuza asked as he closed the crystal in his hand, looking in Hiashi's direction - right into his eyes. "Your eldest is stronger than anything you can understand and you had nothing to do with that, other than being a horrible father." Zabuza smirked under his wraps.

"You know nothing about my relationship with my daughter! I never thought she was useless, I just..." Hiashi tried but Zabuza cut him off.

"You favored one over the other - even when that child was never believed to survive. You never even questioned why she suddenly go so strong - you just went along with it, completely unaware that your eldest risked her own life to save someone she loved. Now, you lost your eldest and without her chakra insider you - you're about to lose your youngest; all because you were a horrible father...and an even worse husband for breaking your promise to your wife on her death bed." Zabuza turned on his heel and left to do what he was asked to do - leaving the Head of the Hyuga standing there; his heart growing colder at this truth.

He lied to his wife.

His eldest was no longer his.

And his youngest was going to die.

All because of his neglect.

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